Coronavirus in Texas

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Texas reports over 8,500 people hospitalized for coronavirus during the holidays

by Texas Tribune Staff Updated: Nov. 27, 2020

The state reported 2,473 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, while 8,518 people are currently hospitalized, an increase of 354 patients from a week ago. Full Story 

Latest coverage

• Texas Democrats have failed to pass voter access legislation for years. The pandemic may change that.

  by Karen Brooks Harper Nov. 27, 2020

  More than 60 election-related bills have been filed in the House and Senate in the three weeks since the election. About half of them are aimed at increasing voter access, which lawmakers said became a more urgent issue during the pandemic. Full Story 

• San Antonio and Bexar County issue partial curfew for Thanksgiving weekend

  by Stacy Fernández Nov. 25, 2020

  Officials in the San Antonio area are following in the footsteps of El Paso County, which issued a similar order earlier this week. The curfews come as coronavirus infections surge to new levels in Texas. Full Story 

• Texas again sets record for new coronavirus infections as testing also sees sustained highs

  by Edgar Walters, Carla Astudillo, Chris Essig and Mandi Cai Nov. 25, 2020

  The apparent record comes one day before the Thanksgiving holiday. Public health authorities have urged people to celebrate apart this year as many Texas hospitals report overwhelming volumes of COVID-19 patients. Full Story 

• Q&A with NAMI Texas’ executive director about mental health during the pandemic

  by Elvia Limón Nov. 25, 2020

  Texas ranks 50th out of 51 in overall access to mental health care, reports show. Currently, only one in seven Texas children with major depression receives consistent treatment — almost half the national average. Full Story 

• For families that lost loved ones or jobs to the pandemic, Thanksgiving carries an extra weight this year

  by Trinady Joslin, Aria Jones and Sami Sparber Nov. 25, 2020

  This year’s pandemic has brought untold suffering to families across Texas. Making things worse: At a time when they might take solace in the company of friends or family, public health authorities are urging them to stay apart. Full Story 

• Texas shut down bars to slow the spread of coronavirus — but allowed thousands to open through a restaurant loophole

  by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff Nov. 25, 2020

  As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations balloon, public health experts and local officials worry the loopholes are one reason behind the recent rise. Full Story 

• Analysis: Muted holidays in Texas, as pandemic threatens and vaccines raise hopes

  by Ross Ramsey Nov. 25, 2020

  Vaccines and antibody therapies raise hopes of combatting the coronavirus. But as the holiday season begins, the pandemic is setting new records in Texas for caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths. Full Story 

• El Paso County judge says new "partial" curfew doesn't conflict with statewide coronavirus orders

  by Julián Aguilar Nov. 24, 2020

  The restrictions on social gatherings begin Wednesday and last through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Full Story 

• Williamson County judge pleads guilty for violating his own stay-at-home order, will pay $1,000 fine

  by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff Nov. 24, 2020

  In exchange for the guilty plea, two charges related to the incident — abuse of official capacity and official oppression — are being dropped. Full Story 

• These health care workers will be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine

  by Edgar Walters Nov. 23, 2020

  Hospital-based nurses, doctors, custodians are among the state's "first tier" of vaccine recipients once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves one or more for the public. Full Story 

• A birthday lunch left 15 Texas relatives battling COVID-19: "Please don’t be like my family"

  by Andrea Salcedo, The Washington Post Nov. 23, 2020

  Enriqueta Aragonez is one of 15 family members who contracted the coronavirus after a small indoor birthday celebration earlier this month where no one wore masks. Full Story 

• A North Texas superintendent is openly defying the state mask mandate in schools. No one is stopping him.

  by Stacy Fernández Nov. 23, 2020

  The Texas Education Agency declined to take action, saying it's up to local enforcement. A county official tried to intervene but said it should be up to TEA to enforce. Full Story 

• The devastating toll of COVID-19 on El Paso illustrates the pandemic’s stark inequalities

  by Alex Samuels Nov. 21, 2020

  El Paso is far from the only predominantly Hispanic area that has been ravaged by the virus. Hidalgo and Cameron counties, both along the state’s southern border, have seen death tolls that rival larger and more urban parts of the state. Full Story 

• 36 members of the National Guard heading to work in El Paso mortuaries as coronavirus cases soar

  by Jolie McCullough and Mitchell Ferman Updated: Nov. 20, 2020

  The border city recently resorted to using inmates from the county jail to move bodies. At the request of county officials, the state is sending assistance. Full Story 

• COVID-19 vaccines may be coming soon, but most Texans won’t get them for months. Here’s why.

  by Shannon Najmabadi and Edgar Walters Nov. 20, 2020

  Officials are preparing for the massive undertaking of distributing a vaccine that may require multiple doses and subzero storage temperatures across a state that covers 270,000 square miles and some 170 rural counties. Full Story 

• Watch: A UT-Austin researcher explains the role his lab played in several leading COVID-19 vaccines

  by Alana Rocha, Todd Wiseman and Justin Dehn Nov. 20, 2020

  At least four of the COVID-19 vaccines showing promise are using technology developed in Jason McLellan's lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story 

• Analysis: Two threats to local Texans, and two different responses from Texas government

  by Ross Ramsey Nov. 20, 2020

  A spike in violent crime in Dallas is getting an aggressive response from Austin, with state police on their way to help. In the state's COVID-19 hot spots, local attempts to slow the spread are running into resistance from the Capitol. Full Story 

• El Paso County officials plead for more morgue workers as coronavirus fatalities climb

  by Julián Aguilar Nov. 19, 2020

  The request comes as the county has used low-level offenders from the county jail to help transport bodies and as officials await a response from the Texas National Guard. Full Story 

• Fleeing their home state's strict restrictions on sports, New Mexico basketball teams seek refuge in two of Texas' worst hot spots

  by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff Nov. 19, 2020

  The two teams will move to Lubbock and Amarillo, which are in counties with some of the highest rates of COVID-19 per 1,000 residents in the state. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott reiterates Texas will not shut down again while touting arrival of new coronavirus treatment

  by Patrick Svitek Updated: Nov. 19, 2020

  ​Abbott's news conference came the same day that Texas reported more daily new cases than ever before — 12,293 — easily surpassing the previous record of 10,823 two days earlier. Full Story